Apple and Pear Australia (APAL) has announced Garry Langford will be departing the peak industry body after 19 years of service. Langford will continue in his current role as manager of APAL’s intellectual property division until June.

During his time at APAL, Langford has managed the Australian Pome Fruit Improvement Programme (APFIP) – including oversight of APFIP’s role in the certification of nursery trees – and served as an effective liaison with international breeding programmes, and the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service (AQIS). He has also been a director of Prevar, a world-class apple and pear breeding programme.

Langford has been instrumental in developing APAL’s world-leading intellectual property business, based on the Pink Lady trade mark, which is now registered in more than 70 territories worldwide.

His departure comes as APAL develops a new industry strategy, which aims to align with the organisation’s focus on supporting commercial apple and pear growers.

“Sadly, as we work through this process one of our longstanding team members, Garry Langford, has informed us he will be leaving APAL in the coming months to pursue new opportunities,” APAL chief executive Phil Turnbull said in a release.

While not yet finalised, the new strategy will place more emphasis on the commercial side of the business to open new opportunities for growers.

“We will continue to manage APAL for the benefit of the Australian industry and Australian growers in line with our constitution,” Turnbull added. “However, we will also focus on a new level of rigour around performance and a renewed accountability for outcomes. We want the value we create for our growers, licensees and stakeholders to be more transparent as we grow.

“I’ve been extremely gratified and encouraged by our team’s ability to pull together as we have worked through this review. The Board is unanimous in its support for our strategic direction, and the APAL team are engaged and enthusiastic about the future.”